“So looking forward to it,” I sang back, with as much sarcasm as I could muster, and slammed the door behind me.

I seethed quietly for a few minutes, tempted to slip out the window, head down to the beach, and catch a few waves just for spite. who was Liam to forbid me from surfing? From doing something that I loved? Not only that, riding the waves was the only thing that kept me somewhat grounded; if I didn’t have that release, I’d probably be sneaking out every night to go flying with rogue dragons.

I snorted. Maybe I would do that again. I didn’t need Cobalt to go wing surfing any night of the week; I could do it on my own. it wasn’t like Liam could stop me, rules or no.

Maybe that’s why Cobalt went rogue, I thought sourly, gazing out the window. I could hear the ocean in the distance, shushing against the sand, and my resentment increased. Because all these stupid rules were suffocating him. Can’t Shift, can’t fly, can’t have any fun, oh and here’s a sadistic trainer to make your life miserable for no good reason.

There was a soft tap at my door, and I sighed. “It’s open, Dante.”

The door creaked, and my brother stepped into my room, a concerned look on his face. “Hey,” he greeted, closing the door behind him. “You all right?”

No, I wasn’t. My anger still hadn’t cooled, and now switched to the only target in the room. “Thanks for sticking up for me in there,” I snapped, making him frown. “You could’ve told Liam I wasn’t in any danger from surfing—you know how good I am. Now I’m going to have to watch my back every time I want to go down to the beach.

Some twin you are.”

His eyes narrowed. “I was more concerned about you mouthing off to Liam and getting yourself sent back to Talon,” he retorted. I glared at him, and he gave me a look of exasperation. “You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t a vacation, sis, not for us. We’re not human, and we’re not here to have fun. This is a test, and they’re watching our every move to make sure we don’t screw this up. If we fail, it’s right back to re-training. Back to the desert, in the middle of nowhere.”

He crossed his arms with a grave expression. “Remember that? Remember what it was like? Do you really want to go back?”

I shivered. I did remember. The isolation , the boredom, the same scenery every single day—nothing but dust, scrub and rock, as far as the eye could see. The loneliness. Except for our teachers, the guards stalking the perimeter fence around the facility, and the evaluators who dropped by every month to check our progress, we didn’t see another living soul. No friends, no kids our age, no company. It was just us, two hatchling dragons against the world.

I did not want to return to that. Bad enough when I didn’t know any better, when the outside world was nothing more than images on TV or photos in a textbook. Now that I’d actually lived here, I’d go crazy if they sent me back.

I dropped onto the bed with a thump. “No,” I growled sullenly, knowing he’d won this round. “I don’t.”

Dante perched on the corner of the mattress, one leg folded beneath him. “I don’t, either,” he said quietly. “You’re my sister. It’s always been just us against everything else. But the rules are different here. Before, we could occasionally slip up and Shift into our real forms and Talon wouldn’t care—no one outside the organization would be around to see it. But now?” He shook his head. “We can’t afford any mistakes. We can’t break the rules, even once. There’s more to lose than surfing privileges and getting to stay out late. Talon is testing us, and I am not going to fail.”

My stomach felt cold, even though I managed a small smirk. “You know, you were a fun brother, once.” And someone I could trust. Why don’t you ever talk to me anymore, Dante? I still don’t even know what you do with your trainer every day.

He snorted, looking more like himself. “I grew up. You might try it sometime. I don’t think it will kill you.” He stood, ruffled my hair, and yanked his arm back before I could smack it. I glowered as he walked to the door but paused with his hand on the knob.

“It’s still just us against the world, sis,” he said, quite seriously now, glancing back over his shoulder. “We have to look out for each other, even if that means doing what’s best for our future. Even if the other doesn’t agree sometimes. Remember that, okay?”

“Yeah,” I sighed, mostly to get him out of my room. His words had a strangely ominous tone, though I couldn’t put my finger on why. I suddenly just wanted him gone. “I will.”

He gave me a brief, somewhat empty smile, and the door closed behind him.

Alone, I flopped to my back and gazed up at the ceiling. Mornings came way too quickly these days. Tomorrow I’d have to be up at the crack of dawn—again—to attend another torture session with Scary Talon Lady. That last exercise, with the soldiers and the guns, had been shocking to say the least. Though it was slightly better than the pointless tasks of before, which, I suspected now, were designed to be pointless on purpose—to break my spirit, and to teach me not question orders, no matter how stupid they seemed. If I just shut up and did whatever aggravating thing she told me to do, it would be over a lot faster.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t very good at staying quiet and following orders, particularly if they made no sense. And now, I wanted to know why my trainer had thrown in these crazy new war games. I’d been curious before, and the encounter with a certain rogue dragon had only intensified my determination. If Talon, my instructor, my guardians, and my own brother wouldn’t tell me anything, then I would just have to find answers myself.